Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Is it possible to have a serious debate, which the people deserve, on housing without the name calling and attempts to politically undermine and distort what is being said?

I do not think it is possible to have such a debate with the Opposition, given the Deputy's contribution just now and her misrepresentation of what I said publicly. I will say again that the last Government moved from a situation where we were doing approximately 20,000 houses in 2020 to more than 30,000 houses in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Some 130,000 houses have been built since the last Government was formed in 2020. That was a step change compared with what had been achieved in the preceding five years. It turned a corner but that is not enough. The Housing for All plan exceeded its targets and when it did so, the Opposition's response was to say the targets were not good enough or high enough.

See this speech in context